Saturday's Morning Skate 11/28

Kevin Sundher was playing well before his unfortunate injury in overtime Friday night. Photo: Nina Weiss

There was no shortage of action in last night's match up between rivals Lehigh Valley and Hershey. The two teams combined for 10 goals, which matched the scoring output of the rest of the Atlantic Division games last night combined.

Still, the Phantoms injuries continue to deplete the roster. Last night both defenseman Mark Alt and forward Kevin Sundher were lost to lower body injuries. Alt left in the 2nd period after a knee-on-knee collision by the Phantoms bench and never returned. Sundher went down in OT and his leg caught the post, causing him to spin around and appear to hyper extend his knee the opposite way it normally bends. Sundher had to be helped off the ice and wasn't putting any weight on his leg.

As a result, the Phantoms recalled forward Brandon Alderson from Reading (ECHL) and also signed forward Cam Reid to a professional tryout (PTO) from the Phantoms' ECHL affiliate. Both are expected to be in the lineup for Lehigh Valley tonight against Providence.

Atlantic Division Standings (through 11/27's games)

1. W-B/Scranton: 17 games played, 15-2-0-0 = 30 points (.882 PCT)
2. Bridgeport: 20 games played, 13-6-1-0 = 27 points (.675 PCT)
3. Hershey: 19 games played, 10-5-0-4 = 24 points (.632 PCT)
4. Springfield: 17 games played, 9-7-1-0 = 19 points (.559 PCT)
5. Lehigh Valley: 20 games played, 9-10-1-0 = 19 points (.475 PCT)
6. Hartford: 20 games played, 8-10-2-0 = 18 points (.450 PCT)
7. Portland: 16 games played, 7-9-0-0 = 14 points (.500 PCT)
8. Providence: 19 games played, 4-10-4-1 = 10 points (.342 PCT)



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Around The Atlantic

Hershey - 5 at Lehigh Valley - 6 (SO)

The Phantoms and Bears held a high-scoring affair Friday night that left two goal performances by both Petr Straka and Tyrell Goulbourne unable to secure to two points in the standings. It wasn't until the fifth round of a scoreless shootout that Tim Brent was able to get on past Hershey's goaltender Dan Ellis to secure the win for Lehigh Valley, who led for large portions of the game.

With goaltenders Jason LaBarbera and Anthony Stolarz both injured, and Martin Ouellette coming off a 7-1 loss on Wednesday the Phantoms turned to Connor Knapp in net. Knapp picked up the win in his Phantoms debut despite allowing five goals on 28 shots.

Nathan Walker and Travis Boyd tallied a goal and an assist each for the Bears in a losing effort. Paul Carey tied the game at 5-5 and forced overtime just 20 seconds after the Phantoms had taken the lead late in the third period.

The Phantoms remain home to face the Providence Bruins tonight, while the Hershey Bears travel to Wilkes-Barre to take on the Penguins.

Providence - 0 at W-B/Scranton - 3

The Penguins improved to a league's best 15-2-0 on the season behind a 29-save shutout by Matt Murray, his third perfect game of the season.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got a goal in each period on tallies from Conor Sheary, Kael Mouillierat and Dominik Simon while also keeping the PBruins off the score sheet.

Malcolm Subban stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the loss.

The Penguins remain home and host rival Hershey, while Providence heads to Lehigh Valley to take on the Phantoms tonight.

Springfield - 2 at Hartford - 0

In a goaltender's duel between Nicklas Treutle and Mackenzie Skapski, Springfield's rookie out-shined Hartford's second year pro in a low-scoring affair.

Alex Grant tallied a goal in the first period and the 1-0 lead stuck until Lucas Lessio tallied an empty net goal with 1:09 left in the third period. Treutle stopped all 36 shots he faced for his second career AHL shutout.

Skapski stopped 19 of 20 shots in the loss for the Wolf Pack.

Springfield returns home to face a red-hot Albany team that is 7-1-2 in its last ten games, while Hartford heads to Bridgeport for a Saturday night contest with the 2nd place team in the Atlantic Division.

Friday's Eastern Conference Scores

Binghamton - 0 at Albany - 4

Utica - 4 at Portland - 1

Toronto - 3 at Syracuse - 1

St. John's - 3 at Rochester - 4 (SO)

Saturday's Eastern Conference Schedule

St. John's at Toronto, 2:00 p.m. ET
Hartford at Bridgeport, 7:00 p.m. ET
Utica at Portland, 7:00 p.m. ET
Albany at Springfield, 7:00 p.m. ET
Rochester at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m. ET
Providence at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m. ET
Hershey at W-B/Scranton, 7:05 p.m. ET